Recently, jewelry has been adapted for use with near field communication (NFC) technologies. Near field communication (NFC) is a more finely-honed version of radio frequency identification (RFID). NFC operates within a maximum range of about 4-10 cm and involves the modulation of a magnetic field between two devices, commonly referred to as an initiator and target. The initiator generates a radio frequency field and the target modulates the generated field using power from the initiator. NFC-enabled features are now commonly integrated into smart phones and other electronic devices.
A challenge with NFC antenna design is that performance of the NFC antenna is significantly degraded when surrounding the NFC antenna with metals or other electrically conductive materials. Specifically, wrapping a metal around and along a same plane as an NFC antenna prevents communication between initiator and target. To this end, U.S. Pat. No. 9,824,310 by Huynh discloses an article of jewelry where the NFC antenna is positioned within the bezel of an article of jewelry and the bezel includes opposing ends that are flanged outward, which prevents interference. Moreover U.S. Pat. No. 10,108,900 by Huynh provides an article of jewelry, where the NFC antenna is positioned within the bezel and the bezel is opened and closed to deny and permit near field communication between initiator and target by breaking and forming a continuous electrically conductive loop respectively.
While the state of the art demonstrates NFC antennas have been successfully positioned at the bezel, NFC antennas have not yet been successfully positioned over the band portion of a ring. This is because the band is conventionally formed as a continuous loop of an electrically conductive metal, which as indicated above, prevents near field communication. Accordingly, there remains a need to adapt the band portion of a ring for use with near field communication.